


Awaiting a Diagnosis

by Croc9400



Series: Malec One Line Prompt Challenge [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt Magnus Bane, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Protective Magnus Bane, Sick Alec Lightwood, Sickfic, Soft Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Supportive Magnus Bane, Worried Alec Lightwood, Worried Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26865838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Croc9400/pseuds/Croc9400
Summary: Alec's been having stomach pains for months now, and Magnus finally convinces him to go to the doctor.***Day 4 - "Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always"
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Malec One Line Prompt Challenge [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952176
Comments: 6
Kudos: 144





	Awaiting a Diagnosis

**Author's Note:**

> We've got an angsty one, so strap in, folks.   
> Also, my medical knowledge isn't perfect, so forgive me for any inaccuracies.

Alec’s hands were shaking. 

Magnus took one of his shaking hands in both of his. 

“Hey,” Magnus’ voice was soft, kind, “it’s gonna be okay,” 

“What if it’s not?” Alec only stared at his lap. 

“Then we’ll deal with it,” Magnus assured him, “take a deep breath, darling,” 

Alec did as Magnus told, but his breath was shaky. Magnus let go of Alec’s hand with one of his and pulled his head down so their foreheads were resting together. Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec’s forehead and pulled him close. He wished they made hospital offices a little more homey, he wished they gave them a couch to sit on instead of two separate chairs. He wanted to hold Alec as close as possible and assure him that regardless of what happened he wasn’t going anywhere. 

Alec’s stomach had been hurting him a lot recently. It had started as a dull pain a few months back, something Magnus had learned much later than he would have liked. Had he learned earlier they would’ve been here earlier, Alec wouldn’t have just drowned his pain in painkillers. But it had gotten to a point where Magnus could barely put any pressure on Alec’s stomach without him wincing. Alec hadn’t wanted to go to the doctor but Magnus had practically forced him to go. 

Magnus could tell Alec was scared, really scared. He didn’t know if he’d ever seen Alec this scared. Magnus had assured him again and again that he wasn’t going anywhere, they’d been together for three years, they lived together. No medical diagnosis was going to change his feelings and he needed to keep assuring Alec of that. He hadn’t agreed to go to the doctor until Magnus had sworn to him that he wouldn’t leave. 

His fears were legitimate. Alec’s mother had developed ovarian cancer during her last pregnancy when Alec was ten years old. As she was struggling, Alec’s father had become distant. The baby had been born premature and had ended up only living a week. After the baby was born, his mother had undergone a total hysterectomy. By the time she’d gotten home from the hospital, Alec’s father was gone and they hadn’t seen him since. 

“Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always, no matter what happens,” Magnus assured him again, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him as close as the oncologist’s office chairs would allow. 

“Thank you,” Alec said softly. His whole body tensed and he winced as a result when the doctor walked in. Magnus gripped his hand tighter as the doctor sat down across from them. 

“Well?” Magnus asked, almost impatiently. He didn’t want to show Alec how scared he was but he was probably about as scared as Alec. He knew it was still early, and they still didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he was so afraid he might lose him. He knew a diagnosis wasn’t a death sentence, but he couldn’t help but imagine the worst. 

“Alec,” the doctor turned to face him, “your MRI and CAT scans show that you do have an abnormal mass encroaching on your stomach and spleen,” 

“Okay,” Alec nodded slightly, gripping the arm of the chair with his free hand to keep it from shaking, “what does that mean? Is it…?”

“We don’t know whether or not it’s benign or cancerous, for that we’d need a biopsy,” she told them, “and to do a biopsy, we’d need to remove the mass,”

Alec just stared at his lap.

“Okay,” Magnus said after a moment when Alec didn’t respond, “when would we do that?”

“Well, with the size of the mass and where it’s located, it would be best to remove it as soon as possible,” she explained, “we could prep and be ready to go in an hour or we could schedule for early next week,” 

Magnus looked at Alec to speak, but he still didn’t. 

“What would you recommend?” Magnus asked, again speaking for Alec when he remained silent. 

“I would recommend doing it today,” she replied, “that way if any supplemental treatment is necessary we can start next week,”

“Alright,” Magnus nodded before turning to Alec, “do you want to do it today?” 

Alec was still staring at his lap, not listening to either of them. 

“Alexander, darling?” Magnus let his hand run through Alec’s hair and down the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, let's do it today,” Alec said softly, nodding. 

“Okay, a nurse will be in shortly to take you to pre-op,” she said, standing. 

“Thank you, doctor,” Magnus smiled, shaking the hand she had offered to them. The second the door shut, Magnus heard Alec sob. 

“Hey, hey,” Magnus said softly, pulling Alec to his feet and into a hug. Alec clung to him tightly as he sobbed into his shoulder, “hey, you’re okay, Alexander, you’re okay, darling,”

“I don’t wanna leave you,” Alec cried, burying his head deeper into the crook of Magnus’ neck. Magnus’ heart broke as Alec sobbed in his arms and he willed his own tears to stay in his eyes. He couldn’t break down right now, Alec needed him to be strong right now, so he was going to be strong. 

“You’re not leaving me and I’m not leaving you,” Magnus said, rubbing a soothing hand down Alec’s back, “you’re having surgery, I’m not gonna let you leave the couch for at least a week,”

Magnus tried to joke and Alec let out a little chuckle, causing him to hiss again at the pain in his stomach. 

“That’s gonna be gone soon,” Magnus said softly, letting his hand rest ever so lightly over Alec’s stomach, “then you’re body can start healing,”

“If it’s not trying to kill me,” Alec remarked. 

“Hey,” Magnus pulled back slightly and took Alec’s face in his hands, “if it is, you’ll fight it. We’ll fight it together, okay? Until the very end, we’re in this together,”

“Thank you,” Alec said softly, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ lips as the door opened. 

“Alec?” the nurse looked at the two of them. 

“That’s me,” Alec said, raising his hand slightly as Magnus wiped the tears from his face. 

“This way, sir,” the nurse gestured. 

“Can I come with you guys?” Magnus asked, still not quite ready to let go of Alec.

“Are you married?” he asked, looking between them.

“Um, no we’re not,” Magnus replied, not looking at Alec. He knew though, regardless of what the outcome of this was, he was going to marry Alec. 

“Do you have power of attorney?” he asked. 

“I don’t,” Magnus shook his head. 

“I imagine you’re his ride?” the nurse asked. 

“Yes, I am,” Magnus was happy he could say yes to one of the questions, hating he couldn’t say yes to the others.

“Okay, then you can go up the front, give them your number, go do whatever you need to and they will call you when we’re done here,” the nurse explained. 

“Okay,” Magnus nodded, before turning back to Alec, “I’ll be waiting for you when you wake up, darling,” 

“I love you,” Alec said softly, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ lips. 

“I love you too, Alexander,” Magnus said, “you’re gonna be okay,” 

“Love you,” Alec said again, pressing a few more quick pecks to Magnus’ lips before following the nurse out of the room. He smiled and waved at Alec as he went out the door, who offered him a small smile back before the door shut. Once the door shut, Magnus let out a long exhale and let the tears flow from his eyes. 

“Oh, keep it together, Magnus,” he breathed out, his hands on his hips as he tapped his foot. He could do this, they could do this. He needed to hold himself together for Alec, he needed to compartmentalize this. Alec was just going into surgery to have a mass removed. It wasn’t dangerously close to anything vital, so the surgery wasn’t dangerous. 

If the mass turned out to be benign, then it was benign, this was the best-case scenario. He’d have the mass removed, he wouldn’t be in any pain, he’d just have to heal from the surgery. That was easy, Magnus could be a very good nurse. He could and would wait on Alec's hand and foot until he was back to full health. 

If the mass wasn’t benign, they could still handle it. It was being removed, so it wouldn’t keep growing and encroaching on any of his organs. He would go through the chemo, the radiation, and Magnus would be there with him. They’d beat it, they’d get through it, and then Magnus, without a doubt, was going to ask Alec to marry him. 

Magnus wiped his eyes and took a breath, fanning his face as he left the office. He didn’t want to leave the hospital, didn’t want to leave Alec at all, but he knew their loft wasn’t prepped for Alec to come home post-surgery. It was more of a mess than either of them usually kept it, but they’d been preoccupied. He would go home, clean up, then come right back and be ready the second Alec was in recovery. He gave his number to the front desk so they could call him if Alec was finished earlier than he expected. 

By the time he made it back to the loft, he had fully pulled himself together. He had let a few more tears out in the car, just to get his emotions out before he brought Alec home. He just kept telling himself a diagnosis wasn’t a death sentence and they were just getting a diagnosis today. He couldn’t shake his anxiety fully, but letting it out helped him level his head. He could be strong for Alec, he had to be. 

It took him less than an hour to clean up everything they’d left around the loft. It was mostly shoes, books, papers strewn about, blankets left crumpled on the couch, plates left in the sink to be dealt with at a later date, cat toys that the Chairman dragged out and left on the floor. He cleaned it all before grabbing his laptop and a book before going back to the hospital. 

He was in the hospital waiting room for two hours before they told him Alec was done. During that time, he’d taken off work for the rest of the week and negotiated with his boss to work from home until Alec was up and moving again. He had to sit and wait for another half hour after they told him he was done before he was allowed back into recovery. 

“Hey, Alexander,” Magnus smiled when he was led through the curtain into Alec’s little recovery room. 

“Hey babe,” Alec smiled at him, his voice hoarse. He had an oxygen tube in his nose, a heart rate monitor on his finger, and an IV in his hand. 

“How are you feeling?” Magnus asked, moving fully into the room and sat in the chair next to Alec’s bed. 

“T-tired,” Alec replied. 

“How does your stomach feel?” Magnus took Alec’s hand in both of his and kissed the back of his hand. Alec shut his eyes letting his other hand rest lightly over his stomach. 

“I honestly c-can’t feel it right now,” Alec said after a moment, as if he had been trying to concentrate on feeling his stomach, “I imagine bet-t-ter than it d-did,” 

“Are you cold, darling?” Magnus asked, “do you want another blanket?”

“Not cold,” Alec shook his head, “just sh-shivery. The nurse said it’s n-normal,” 

“Knock knock,” the doctor walked through the curtain, “how are you feeling, Alec?”

“Tired,” Alec replied. 

“That’s normal,” she smiled, “you’ll be lethargic for the rest of the day. The good news, we were able to fully remove the mass while leaving a majority of the surrounding tissue intact. The biopsy results probably won’t be in until tomorrow morning, but someone from my office will be in contact with you by tomorrow morning regardless of what the results are. In the meantime, I’m sending you home with some prescription painkillers as well as anti-nausea medications, as nausea is a side effect of the anesthesia. If you have any questions or concerns over the next few days call the office, and if the office is unavailable, my person number will be on your discharge papers,” 

“Thank you, doctor,” Magnus gave her a smile after Alec didn’t. Magnus looked at his boyfriend and saw on his face that he was overwhelmed and scared. The doctor nodded and left, leaving them alone once again. 

“It’s all going to be okay, darling,” Magnus assured him, “we’re going to get through this, I promise. I’m gonna help you, I’ll be here,” 

“Thank you,” Alec said, gripping his hand tightly, “I want to make you my power of attorney,” 

“Are you sure?” Magnus looked up at him.

“Yes,” Alec said confidently, “if I can’t make decisions, I want you to make them for me. I want you to be able to talk to the doctors,”

“Okay, we can get started with that next week,” Magnus assured him, “I took off the rest of this week and I’m working from home until you’re back on your feet,”

“You don’t have to do that,” Alec shook his head. 

“Already done,” Magnus told him, “you need your nurse to take care of you,” 

“Are you a good nurse?” Alec asked, a teasing smile on his face. 

“The best,” Magnus replied, “I’ve even got the costume,”

“The costume?” Alec looked at him, a little confused. 

“Sexy nurse costume,” Magnus bit his lip. Alec burst out laughing, a huge smile on his face which spread to Magnus. 

“That’s the first time I’ve been able to laugh without pain,” Alec said softly, his hand resting lightly over his stomach. Magnus leaned down and pressed a kiss against the spot. He felt the bandages under Alec’s gown. 

“Gonna kiss it all better,” Magnus said softly, pressing another kiss to that same spot. 

“Love you,” Alec said softly, looking at Magnus lovingly. 

“Love you too,” Magnus smiled, “I’m with you, gonna make it all better,”

No matter what the diagnosis, no matter what they had to do, it was gonna get better. Alec was gonna get better and Magnus was going to propose, and they were going to have the biggest, most glorious wedding anyone had ever seen. 

They were going to be healthy, happy, and together. 

Magnus was sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, yes, I know and I'm sorry about the cliffhanger. If I kept going, this one was gonna take me even longer than it already did and I want to keep moving through these. I've already had some questions about additional chapters to any of these stories and I'm sure the question will come up with this one. I'm going to go through the entire list of these prompts, then circle back, and if I feel compelled to add chapters to any of them, I will. Essentially, what I'm saying is, this story will most likely get a second chapter, just not until I've finished the full prompt list  
> Anyways, thanks so much for reading, the next prompt is "we're best when we're together" and I that one is not gonna be as angsty as this, I promise.


End file.
